Valveless sand pump



March 21, l939l l.. J. TowNE ET A1.

VALVELESS SAND PUMP Filed May 7, 1937 wm MT D /m EN Y 5B x ATTORNEYPatentediM'ar. 21, 1939 A.

' VALVELESS SAND PUMP vLeland J. Towne,V Oldahoma City, and Edgar B.

' De Loe, ,Sapulpb Okla.

`Application May 7, 1937',y Serial No. 141,336`

'K 4 Claims.

ffy'Ihe` invention relates tovrrsand pumps used in y Ther greatestcleaning out. sand and other foreign matter from deelzrwells.y ,n

, difficulties with Vpumps of this classat present are the'sticking ofthe plunger,

f and the sticking of the check valves'due to sand CIL and; otherforeign mattersettling on top of andv Varound the plunger andivalves. Yf

L@Toobviate these difliculties various manufac- 'turers haveadoptedtheexpedient'of making the rplunger somewhat smaller in diameterthan the interior diameter of 'the barreLMw'ith the` idea that the sandand otherforeign matter settling outofthe;liquid would pass downward inthe.

barrel Varound the plunger.rv The actual results of; this change-inconstruction have been: "exe trexnelyy lfastwearon 4the outer surface ofthe plungerfdue togthe abrasiveraction of the sand and other foreignmatter in the liquid, causing aboutr midway of the barrel, and, as thepump is withdrawn from the liquid in the bottom of the ,wellf theweight,of the' fluidand of the barrel causes the dislodgingof the particlesholding the plunger, and .theloaded barrel drops,the impact ofy itsheadagainst the top of the plunger fre" kquentlyl'breaking the sand linesupporting the pump. y/Naturally fthe pump drops to the bot- :tomofthegwell, `and a fishing job is necessary,

y with consequent lloss ofvaluable time. This con- [the check'valves. nY v jflheychief objects of our invention, therefore,Y

struction` has not greatly reduced thel sticking of are to eliminate theabovementioned difficulties,

i4in connection with the'f accompanying drawing4 whichiorm a part ofthis application. 'I'he drawing is to be considered illustrative only.

Referring to the drawing:

Figure 1 isa side sectional view of our sand pump assembled; n

`Figure2 is'a perspective view of one of the four shoes which form theplunger head, and shows by dotted lines the manner in which the shoescooperatively fit together;

' Figure 3 is a top sectional View taken along the line 3--3 of Figure1;

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 3 but shows the plunger headcontracted; and

Figure 5y is a top sectional view taken along the line 5 5 0f Figure 1.15

, kLike characters of reference designate like parts in all Iigures. Iheinvention includes a barrel I0, a head -I I, and a bottom I2. The bottomis provided with an upwardly opening pressure operated valve I3. 'I'hebarrel Il! is provided with a plurality of ports I4 and I5, which are sopositioned that they lie below the plunger when it is at the upper endof its stroke. These ports thus serve as anoutlet for fluid inthe barrelabove the plunger as the plunger is drawn upward within the barrel, butas the Vplunger approaches the upper end of its stroke itrcloses theseports trapping liquid in the upper portion of the barrel above it. Theonly outlet for'this liquid is through the opening I6 in the head aroundthe sand line I'I; thus the liquid above the plunger serves as a cushionto prevent the plunger operating rod from hitting the interior wall ofthe head with such force as to break the head, and the sand line.

The plunger includes a central plunger operating rod I8 threaded at itsupper end as at I9 and connected to a usual rope socket 253, and havingVa flattened portion 2l to facilitate connection to the Vsocket 2li.Intermediate its ends the rod is` provided ywith an annular enlargedshoulder 22. Amandrel 23 is rotatably mounted on the lower portion ofthe rod below the shoulder 2;?, and is heldin position thereon by awasher 24, ainut 2 5, and a cotter pin 26. The upper end of the mandrel23 is of larger diameter than its central portion and has a plurality oflongitudinally extending slots 26 and 21, the oice of which will belater described. Intermediate its ends the mandrel has a portion 28 ofreduced 50 diameterV formed by opposite converging frustoconicalsurfaces. rI he lower end 29 of the mandrel is square, as shown inFigure 5.

The plunger also includes an expansible head, designated as a whole bythe numeral 30, and 55 composed of a plurality of interlocking arcuateshoes 3I, 32, 33, and 34, the shape of which is more clearly shown inFigure 2. As illustrated, each shoe forms an equal portion ofthecomplete circular plunger head, and interlocks withl the adjacent shoesin a manner to permit radial movement with relation to the central rodI8 about which they are arranged. Each shoe has a slot in its periphery,which slots serve as seats for the upper ends of reins 36,31, 38, and

39, which are respectively secured to the'shoesl by means of countersunk screws 40, 4I, 42, and 43. Intermediate their ends, each of thesereins lis provided with an oiset portion 44 which` is so formed as toconform to the constricted portion 28 of the mandrel 23, when the upperand lower portions of the reins lie flat against the mandrel. y

' QThe lower ends of the reins are slotted to receive the integral,spaced arms 5I, 52, 53, and 54, of a rein yoke 45, which is centrally`provided with a square through perforation of a size as to allow Y ittoy slidably t the lower end 29 of the mandrel. The lower ends of thereins are heldin position on the arms 5I, 52, 53, and 54, respectively,by cotter pins 48, passing through the outer ends of the arms. Thisarrangement permits relative axial movement between the mandrel, andtheY yoke 45, the reins 38, 31, 38, and 39, and the head 3U; and alsopermits each rein' to pivot with its respective arm as an axis. Figure 3shows the head in its expanded posi tion, its yshoes completely sealingagainst the wall of the barrel I0. Figure 4 shows the head Y 38partially contracted leaving an annular space f between the outersurface of the head and the shoes is accomplished by a movement of vthemandrel 23 upward with relation'to the reins 3%, 31, 38, and 39. Thismovement causes the tapering shoulder46 of the mandrel to Contact theoffset portions of the reins, causing them to pivot, with theirrespective arms 5I, 52, 53, and 54 asV their axes, and forcing theirupper ends outward toward thel wall of the barrel I0. When the mandrelis again moved downward with relation to the yoke,` 45, and withrelationV to the reinsthe offset portions 40 ofthe reins seat in theconstricted portion ZlOfthemandrel,`

' permitting the upper ends of the reins to move toward the rod I8,which of course permits the shoes 3l, 32, 33, and 34, to move into theircontracted position as shown by Figure 4, the upper ends ofthe reinsseating in the like plurality of properly spaced slots 26 and 21 in theupper end of the mandrel 23.

We call attention to the fact that as the shoes 3l, 32, 33, and 34, aremoved axially away from the center rod I8, the center hole in theplunger head 30 is increased in diametenand outwardly extending groovesare formed between the upper portions of the adjacentshoes and betweenthe lower portions of the adjacent shoes. With the shoes 'in theirexpanded position, theV grooves Iformed between the upper portions ofthe adjacent shoes have no outlet, and fluid in the upper portion of thebarrel can not pass theV plunger through these grooves. The groovesformed between the lower portions of these shoes, when the head is inits expanded form, serve as outlet ports for fluid above the plunger,due to the fact that the upper end of the mandrel 23 is of less diameterthan the interior diameter kof the; A

barrel I0. The upper end of the mandrel closes outward fromtheir innerends, leaving their outer ends open at the bottom.k This is an importantfeature of our invention as it preventssand` and 'other foreign matterfromv settling on top of the plunger, thus causing the piston to stick.As theV sand settles out of the fluidvtrapped above the plunger,thecirculation of the fluid throughV these lower grooves, as justdescribed, carries the settling sand with it to a point below theYplunger head, where it passes out of the Ywhen the pump isemptied.

Operation barrel production tubing until it reaches the point in thewell to be cleaned. During the downward travel of the pump, the plungeris at the upper end of its stroke, the valve I3 is Vfree tov open,

andthe fluid is free'topa'ss yupward through the ln operation, the pumpis lowered into vthe Y barrel andout'through-the'ports I4 and I5.

When the bottom l2 seats on the sand or other foreign Vmatter in thewell, the Yplunger moves through the fluid to the bottom of the vbarreldue to its own weight, the iiuid passing around the expansible head 3u.VAn upwardV pull on thesand' line il causes the'mandrel 23 to Vmoveaxially upward with relation to the reins, as previously dscribed, thus'expanding thefplunger head ,'30.

As the pull on the sand' lineis continued the plunger draws liquid intothe barrel through` the `valve i3, andas the plunger approaches theupper end ofthe barrel its impact against the head is cushioned, aspreviously described. The entire pump is now drawn upward out of thewell where it is emptied by unscrewing 'the set screw 4l, and

permitting the valve VI3 to'drop downward in thek bottom I2, as shownbythe dotted lines, and the operation'is repeated.

' While we' have Vdescribed and Villustrated a ik specic embodiment ofour invention, we-are' aware that numerous changes may be madeA .thereinand we donot Wish to be limited except ed claims.

We claim:

l.,V sand pump comprising: a barrel; a head for said barrel; .a valveclbottom for said barrel; a plunger 'within the barrel including anexpansible head formed of 'a plurality of relatively movableinterlocking( shoes, a" mandrel about which said shoes` are positionedand with relation to which said shoes are radially movable, and a reinconnected to each of said shoes and operable by said mandrel for movingsaid shoes radially;A andmeans connected to. said plunger bythe priorart and by thescope of the append-.7 i'

and extending outside `saidbarrelfor movingsaid -Y plunger withrelation/to said barrel, and for moving saidmandrel with relation tosaid plunger head. j Y

2. AV sand pump including: a barrel; ahead for said barrel; a .bottomforV saidbarrel; a

. plunger comprising a central plunger rod, a sectionally formedexpansible head surrounding said rod intermediate its Aends and movableaxially with relation thereto, its Vindividual sections ybeing movableradially with relation thereto, a yoke lmountedrfor limited axialmovement on the -lower endof .said rod, and a plurality'ofreins eachhaving itsV lower end pivotally connected to said yoke and its upper endrigidly secured to onesec- 2 tion yof said expansible head; and ,meansconnected yto'theupper end of said central rodand y extending ,outsidethe barrel for moving said "plunger with relation to said barrel, andfor moving said central rod With relation to said plunger head and saidyoke, whereby said sectional head is expanded to seal against the Wallof said barrel.

13 A pump plunger comprising: a mandrel mounted ona central plungeroperating rod; a

sectional expansible plunger head surrounding the rodadjacent 4themandrel; an axially slidable yoke on the mandrel; and means connectingthe yoke to the individual sections of said head for moving theYindividual sections radially outward ywith relation to said mandrel andsaid rod when the mandrel is moved axially with relation to said yoke.

4. A pump plunger comprising: a mandrel rotatably mounted on a plungeroperating rod; a yoke mounted for limited axial movement only on thelower end of said rod; a plurality of radially movable interlockingshoes surrounding said rod adjacent the upper end of said mandrel andforming an expansible plunger head movable axially with relation to saidrod; a like plurality of reins, each having one end attached to one ofsaid shoes and the other end pivotally connected to said yoke; saidreins adapted to expand said plunger head from its normally contractedform When said mandrel is moved up- Ward With relation to said yoke andsaid head.

LELAND J. TOWNE. EDGAR B. DE LOE.

